Vaccinations, Vaccine Science, and a New US President | Speaking of Medicine

PLOS NTDs co-Editor in Chief Peter Hotez encourages US President-Elect Donald Trump to support pro-vaccine policies to protect public health. The 2016 US Presidential debates and campaign were mostly devoid of any meaningful science policy discussions. Beyond climate change we don’t really know where US President-Elect Donald Trump stands on most science issues , but given the urgency of some of the most pressing and emerging aspects of a global science agenda we can expect him to welcome such challenges in the weeks and months ahead. A particular science issue of great concern to the public health of Americans and indeed children worldwide has been a rising tide of anti-vaccine sentiments and the birth of a highly toxic and aggressive “neo” anti-vaxxer movement replete with slick advertising, lobbying, and even film production and exhibits. In an October 2016 PLOS Medicine article (‘Texas and its Measles Epidemic’) I highlighted how one such neoantivaxxer putsch is currently underway